“We have not yet received official notification that there are Mozambicans in the group of four thousand citizens, but we have requested clarification via email in case there are Mozambicans who may need assistance or information,” stated Stella Novo Zeca during the presentation of the tender for the new Maputo landfill, held today in Lisbon.
“In the last two months, fewer than 10 Mozambican citizens have had their residence permit renewal denied, so it is a sporadic situation and not widespread. There have been instances where, two weeks after submitting the documentation, they received the renewal of their title,” added the head of Mozambique’s diplomatic mission in Portugal.
Stella Novo Zeca emphasized that, from the embassy’s perspective, “it is essential to be notified in advance to provide the necessary assistance,” not only in case there are Mozambican citizens among the approximately four thousand undocumented immigrants but also if the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA) rejects the renewal request for a residence permit.
“In recent months, proof of no criminal record has been required, leading to increased demand for Mozambicans to provide this document. There are isolated cases where we have been informed that the request may be denied,” said the ambassador. She explained that in these instances, Mozambican citizens in Portugal should “share the AIMA document with the Mozambican embassy to understand what is happening and bring the AIMA response to discover why the renewal was not accepted.”
AIMA is set to start notifying 4,574 foreign citizens next week to voluntarily leave the country within 20 days, confirmed the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, on Saturday.
“The Government was informed this week by AIMA about the issuance of 4,574 notifications for foreign citizens in illegal situations to leave the national territory,” said the Minister of the Presidency to journalists at the Government headquarters in Lisbon.
According to the minister, this is the first group of immigrants notified out of a total of 18,000 refusals.
The statements from Leitão Amaro followed reports from Jornal de Notícias (JN) about more than 4,000 immigrants being required to leave the country.
“In fact, what we have ahead of us are these roughly 18,000 notifications to leave the national territory,” emphasized the minister on Saturday.
Leitão Amaro warned that this is “the first set of decisions” from AIMA and that there are “another 110,000 processes,” noting that “the majority will be approved, but there will likely also be more refusals and more notifications to leave the national territory.”
“This information confirms that immigration policy in Portugal has shifted to regulated immigration, enforcing compliance with immigration rules. Non-compliance has consequences, and in these cases, they involve violations of Portuguese and European rules for being in the national territory,” he underscored.
